Silent Shakespeare

The earliest known Shakespeare films

The cinema's love affair with Shakespeare dates from the earliest days of film. In its infancy film was regarded as a rather lowbrow medium, and the budding film industry attempted to elevate its cultural status by imitating the theatre. Adapting the works of Shakespeare was the filmmakers' greatest challenge, especially since films at that time – before WWI – tended to be only one or two reels long.
The seven films in this unique collection – from Britain, Italy and the USA – are created from the only known surviving materials, nitrate prints preserved by the BFI's National Archive. They include beautiful examples of hand stencilling and tinted prints. There is a magical version of A Midsummer Night's Dream containing some remarkable special effects, a charming five-minute film of The Tempest, and the very first Shakespeare film ever made, King John, in 1899. This unique and fascinating record shows us the exuberance, invention and conviction of these early filmmakers and demonstrates the possibility of the Shakespearean text.

Synopsis

King John (GB 1899 2 min) the first Shakespeare film ever made, released both as a film in variety theatres and as a peepshow Mutoscope on the same day as Tree's production of the play opened at the Her Majesty's Theatre, London. Courtesy of the EYE Filminstitute, The Netherlands.
The Tempest (GB 1908 12 min)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (USA 1909 12 min)
King Lear/Re Lear (Italy 1910 16 min)
Twelfth Night (USA 1910 12 min)
The Merchant of Venice/Il Mercante di Venezia (Italy 1910 10 min)
Richard III (GB 1911 23 min) a condensed version of one of the Stratford productions mounted by the F.R. Benson Company.

Running time: 87 mins

Scores by Laura Rossi, commissioned by the BFI